Method and automatic unstacking device

Abstract

The application relates to a pallet unstacking method and an automatic pallet unstacking device. The pallet unstacking method comprises the following steps: lifting the pallets above a target level in a pallet group to be unstacked; performing unstacking treatment on the pallets in the target level, which comprises: taking out the right-side pallets and conveying them in a first direction, taking out the left-side pallets and conveying them in a second direction, and turning the left-side pallets into right-side pallets during the conveying process; releasing the lifted pallets from the bottom to the top layer by layer to the position of the target level, and repeatedly performing unstacking treatment on the pallets on the target level until the unstacking of all the lifted pallets is completed. The pallet unstacking method and the automatic pallet unstacking device can efficiently automatically unstack the pallet group stacked alternately in right and left directions.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the warehouse technology field, in particular to a method for unstacking and an automatic unstacking device. BACKGROUND

[0002] The pallet (especially the Chinese pallet) has been widely used due to its wide application range and good versatility.

[0003] In the process of transferring the pallet, in order to reduce the occupied space of the pallet, the front and back surfaces of the pallets are generally stacked alternately to offset the stacking height occupied by the supporting feet of the pallets, so as to improve the pallet loading rate.

[0004] When the pallet is needed, the stacked pallet group needs to be unstacked and the upside-down pallets need to be righted. In the related art, the pallet group is mainly unstacked by pure manual work or manual work assisted by power-assisted equipment, and the upside-down pallets are righted. This operation mode is low in efficiency and high in labor intensity, and moreover, the related power-assisted equipment cannot automatically handle the pallet group stacked alternately in front and back, which affects the unstacking efficiency of the pallet. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present application provides a method for unstacking and an automatic unstacking device, which can efficiently and automatically unstack the pallet group stacked alternately in front and back.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a method for unstacking, comprising the following steps:

[0007] Lifting the pallets above a target level in the pallet group to be unstacked;

[0008] Unstacking the pallets in the target level, which includes taking out the pallets placed in front and conveying them in a first direction, taking out the pallets placed upside down and conveying them in a second direction, and turning the pallets placed upside down into the pallets placed in front during the conveying process;

[0009] Releasing the lifted pallets one by one from the bottom to the target level, repeating the unstacking process of the pallets on the target level, until all the lifted pallets are completely unstacked.

[0010] As a further improvement of the above technical solution:

[0011] The target level is the height position corresponding to the lowest layer of the pallet group to be unstacked.

[0012] Any single level in the pallet group to be unstacked includes a single pallet placed in front, a single pallet placed upside down, or a pair of a pallet placed in front and a pallet placed upside down.

[0013] The method further comprises:

[0014] stacking the upright placed pallets in the second output stack in the first direction;

[0015] stacking the upright placed pallets in the first output stack in the second direction.

[0016] According to the pallet unstacking method of the first aspect of the present application, at least the following beneficial effects are achieved:

[0017] Using the method, all the upright placed pallets on the pallet group to be unstacked can be taken out one by one and sequentially transported in the first direction, and all the reverse placed pallets on the pallet group to be unstacked can be flipped one by one and sequentially transported in the second direction, so that the pallet group with upright and reverse placed pallets is efficiently automatically unstacked, and the reverse placed pallets after unstacking are automatically flipped to become upright placed pallets. At the same time, batches of upright placed pallets can be transported in the first direction and the second direction respectively for use by workers. The upright placed pallets transported in the first direction and the second direction can also be stacked, so that two pallet groups stacked with only upright placed pallets are formed, which is beneficial for storage and use.

[0018] In a second aspect, an automatic pallet unstacking and stacking device is provided, comprising:

[0019] An automatic pallet unstacking and stacking device, comprising:

[0020] a first conveyor, a unstacking station and a flipping station being provided on the conveying path; the first conveyor is used to transport the pallet group to be unstacked to the unstacking station in the second direction and transport the unstacked reverse placed pallets from the unstacking station to the flipping station;

[0021] a flipping mechanism, provided at the flipping station, used to flip the reverse placed pallets to an upright placed state;

[0022] a first unstacking mechanism, provided at the unstacking station, capable of lifting or lowering the part above the target level of the pallet group to be unstacked;

[0023] a second conveyor, used to transport the upright placed pallets unstacked from the pallet group to be unstacked in the first direction;

[0024] a second unstacking mechanism, used to take out the upright placed pallets from the unlifted pallets and transport the upright placed pallets to the second conveyor.

[0025] As a further improvement of the above technical solution:

[0026] The first unstacking mechanism comprises a first lifting seat capable of lifting relative to the first conveyor and a first telescopic member provided at the first lifting seat; the first telescopic member is capable of extending in the second direction or retracting in the direction opposite to the second direction to extend into or exit the first fork leg position of the target pallet.

[0027] The second unstacking mechanism comprises a second lifting seat capable of lifting relative to the second conveyor and a second telescopic member arranged on the second lifting seat, the second telescopic member is capable of extending along a third direction intersecting with the second direction or retracting along a direction opposite to the third direction to extend into or withdraw from the second fork leg position of the upright placed pallet.

[0028] The turnover mechanism comprises a rotating shaft, a rotating drive member for driving the rotating shaft to rotate, and a turnover frame arranged on the rotating shaft, the turnover frame is provided with a limiting slot for the pallet to enter along the second direction.

[0029] The first conveyor is further provided with a first stacking station, the turnover station is located between the unstacking station and the first stacking station, and the first stacking station is provided with a first stacking mechanism, the first stacking mechanism is configured to be capable of stacking the upright placed pallets conveyed along the first conveyor to obtain a first output stack.

[0030] The second conveyor is further provided with a second stacking station, the second stacking station is provided with a second stacking mechanism, the second stacking mechanism is configured to be capable of stacking the upright placed pallets conveyed along the second conveyor to obtain a second output stack.

[0031] The automatic unstacking and stacking device according to the second aspect of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0032] The automatic unstacking and stacking device of the present application, when unstacking the pallet group to be unstacked, the first conveyor first conveys the pallet group to be unstacked to the unstacking station, then the first unstacking mechanism lifts the pallets above the target level in the pallet group to be unstacked by a certain distance, and then the second unstacking mechanism takes out the upright placed pallets from the unlifted pallets and carries them to the second conveyor, that is, the second conveyor conveys the upright placed pallets along the first direction. After the upright placed pallets in the unlifted pallets are taken out, if there are inverted placed pallets on the unstacking station, the first conveyor can convey the inverted placed pallets to the turnover station, and the turnover mechanism arranged on the turnover station can turn the inverted placed pallets on the turnover station into upright placed pallets, so that the first conveyor conveys the turned upright placed pallets along the second direction.

[0033] During the conveying of the taken out upright placed pallets by the second conveyor along the first direction and the conveying of the already turned upright placed pallets by the first conveyor along the second direction, the first unstacking mechanism can lower the lifted pallets above the target level to the unstacking station, and then the first unstacking mechanism, the first conveyor, the second unstacking mechanism and the turnover mechanism cooperate to repeat the above-mentioned actions of lifting the pallet group, taking out the upright placed pallets remaining on the unstacking station, and turning the inverted placed pallets into upright placed pallets.

[0034] In this way, all the right-put trays on the to-be-unstacked tray group can be taken out one by one and sequentially conveyed along the first direction, and all the reverse-put trays on the to-be-unstacked tray group can be turned over one by one and sequentially conveyed along the second direction, so that the to-be-unstacked tray group with right-put and reverse-put trays alternately stacked can be automatically unstacked, and the reverse-put trays after unstacking can be automatically turned over into right-put trays, so that batches of right-put trays are conveyed along the first direction and the second direction respectively for use by workers. The right-put trays conveyed along the first direction and the second direction can also be stacked, so that two tray groups with right-put trays stacked are formed, facilitating storage and use.

[0035] The above description is only a summary of the technical solutions of the present application. In order to enable the technical means of the present application to be more clearly understood and implemented according to the contents of the specification, and in order to enable the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application to be more apparent and easy to understand, the following detailed description of the specific embodiments of the present application is provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0036] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a description of the preferred embodiments and are not meant to limit the present application. Moreover, the same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same or similar elements. In the drawings:

[0037] Figure 1 Structure schematic view of the tray of the embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 2 Structure schematic view of the automatic unstacking and stacking device of the embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 3 Structure schematic view of the unstacking and stacking of the to-be-unstacked tray group after being unstacked by the automatic unstacking and stacking device of the embodiment of the present application Figure 1

[0040] Figure 4 Structure schematic view of the unstacking and stacking of the to-be-unstacked tray group after being unstacked by the automatic unstacking and stacking device of the embodiment of the present application Figure 2

[0041] Figure 5 Another structure schematic view of the automatic unstacking and stacking device of the embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 6 is Figure 5 Partial enlarged view of A in FIG. 8;

[0043] Figure 7 Cooperative structure schematic view of the first conveyor and the turning mechanism of the embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 8 Structure schematic view of the turning mechanism of the embodiment of the present application.​​

[0045] Explanation of reference signs: to-be-unstacked tray group 1; unstacking station 10; overturning station 20; first stacking station 30; second stacking station 40; first conveyor 100; first unstacking mechanism 200; first lifting seat 210; first telescopic piece 220; overturning mechanism 300; rotary driving piece 310; overturning frame 320; limiting groove 321; rotating shaft 330; second conveyor 400; second unstacking mechanism 500; second lifting seat 510; second telescopic piece 520; first stacking mechanism 600; second stacking mechanism 700; tray 800; first fork leg position 810; second fork leg position 820; first direction X1; second direction X2; third direction X3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0047] Reference Figure 1 In the process of transferring the tray 800, in order to reduce the occupied space of the tray 800, a plurality of trays 800 are generally alternately stacked in positive and negative positions to offset the stacking height occupied by the tray supporting legs, thereby improving the loading rate of the tray 800.

[0048] When the tray 800 needs to be used, the stacked tray group needs to be unstacked and the tray 800 with the reverse face upward needs to be placed in the correct position. In the related art, pure manual or manual assisted power-assisted equipment is mainly used to unstack the tray group and place the reverse tray 800 in the correct position. This operation mode is low in efficiency and high in labor intensity, and moreover, the related power-assisted equipment cannot automatically process the tray group stacked alternately in positive and negative positions, thereby affecting the unstacking efficiency of the tray 800.

[0049] To solve the problem of low unstacking efficiency of the tray group stacked alternately in positive and negative positions, the present application provides a method for unstacking and stacking, which comprises the following steps:

[0050] Lifting the tray 800 above the target level in the to-be-unstacked tray group 1;

[0051] Unstacking the tray 800 in the target level, which comprises: taking out the tray 800 stacked in the positive position and conveying it along the first direction X1, taking out the tray 800 stacked in the negative position and conveying it along the second direction X2, and overturning the tray 800 stacked in the negative position into the tray 800 stacked in the positive position during the conveying process;

[0052] The de-stacking process further includes detecting the orientation of the tray 800 in the target level, taking out and conveying the tray 800 in the first direction X1 if the tray 800 is a forward tray, taking out and conveying the tray 800 in the second direction X2 if the tray 800 is a reverse tray, and turning the reverse tray 800 into a forward tray 800 during the conveying process;

[0053] The lifted tray 800 is released from the bottom to the target level one by one, and the de-stacking process is repeated for the tray 800 on the target level until the de-stacking of the lifted tray 800 is completed.

[0054] Wherein, the target level is determined according to the actual de-stacking needs, any single layer in the de-stacking tray group 1 includes a single forward tray 800, or a single reverse tray 800, or a pair of forward and reverse buckled forward tray 800 and reverse tray 800. As one of the embodiments, the target level is the corresponding position height of the last layer in the de-stacking tray group 1.

[0055] When the target level is the last layer in the de-stacking tray group 1, the specific de-stacking method is as follows:

[0056] Step S1, lifting the tray 800 in the second last layer and above in the de-stacking tray group 1;

[0057] Step S2, detecting the orientation of the tray 800 in the last layer in the de-stacking tray group 1, taking out and conveying the tray 800 in the first direction X1 if the tray 800 is a forward tray, taking out and conveying the tray 800 in the second direction X2 if the tray 800 is a reverse tray, and turning the reverse tray 800 into a forward tray 800 during the conveying process;

[0058] Step S3, releasing the lifted tray 800 to the last layer, and repeating the de-stacking process for the tray 800 on the first layer until the de-stacking of the lifted tray 800 is completed.

[0059] It should be noted that in the de-stacking tray group 1 of the embodiment of the present application, the de-stacking tray group 1 includes at least two layers, each layer includes a forward tray 800 and a reverse tray 800, and the forward tray 800 and the reverse tray 800 are distributed in an upside-down manner. It can be understood that the forward tray 800 is a tray 800 with the front face upward, and the reverse tray 800 is a tray 800 with the back face upward.

[0060] In the direction from bottom to top of the de-stacking tray group 1, the de-stacking tray group 1 is stacked from the last layer tray 800, the second last layer tray 800, and the last layer tray 800 at the bottom end of the de-stacking tray group 1 is the last layer tray 800 of the de-stacking tray group 1.

[0061] Referring to Figure 2Before step S1, the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 can be transported to the unstacking station 10 by the first conveyor 100, and the first unstacking mechanism 200 is arranged at the unstacking station 10. The first conveyor 100 can be a conveying belt or a conveying belt.

[0062] In step S1, the second-to-last layer and above of the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 can be lifted by the first unstacking mechanism 200 relative to the unstacking station 10 by a certain distance, and the first unstacking mechanism 200 can be a lifting forklift.

[0063] In step S2, the upright tray 800 in the last layer that is not lifted can be taken out and carried onto the second conveyor 400 by the second unstacking mechanism 500, so that the second conveyor 400 transports the upright tray 800 in the first direction X1. When the upright tray 800 in the last layer is taken out, only the inverted tray 800 in the last layer is left on the unstacking station 10. At this time, the inverted tray 800 can be transported in the second direction X2 by the first conveyor 100. At the same time, the first conveyor 100 can be provided with a turnover mechanism 300 on the travel path of the inverted tray 800, so that the turnover mechanism 300 turns the inverted tray 800 by 180° during the process of the first conveyor 100 transporting the inverted tray 800 in the second direction X2, thereby turning the inverted tray 800 into an upright tray 800 and transporting it in the second direction X2.

[0064] In step S3, during the process of the second conveyor 400 transporting the taken-out upright tray 800 in the first direction X1 and the first conveyor 100 transporting the already turned upright tray 800 in the second direction X2, the first unstacking mechanism 200 can lower the second-to-last layer and above of the tray 800 that has been lifted to the unstacking station 10, and then repeat the above-mentioned actions of lifting the tray group, taking out the upright tray 800 remaining on the unstacking station 10, and turning the inverted tray 800 into an upright tray 800.

[0065] It is not difficult to understand that the unstacking method of the present application, when unstacking the to-be-unstacked tray group 1, first transports the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 to the unstacking station 10, then lifts the second-to-last layer and above of the tray 800 in the unstacked tray group 1, that is, only the last layer of tray 800 in the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 remains on the unstacking station 10, and then takes out the upright tray 800 in the last layer of tray 800 and transports it in the first direction X1.

[0066] At this time, the upright tray 800 in the second last layer of the tray group 1 is taken out, and only one inverted tray 800 is left in the second last layer of the tray group 1. The inverted tray 800 is conveyed along the second direction X2, and the inverted tray 800 is turned over by 180° during the conveying process, so that the inverted tray 800 is turned over to an upright tray 800 and then conveyed along the second direction X2.

[0067] During the conveying of the upright tray 800 along the first direction X1 and the conveying of the upright tray 800 after the turning over along the second direction X2, the second last layer and the above layers of the tray 800 that have been lifted can be lowered to the unstacking station 10, and the above-mentioned actions of lifting the tray 800, taking out the upright tray 800 remaining on the unstacking station 10, and turning over the inverted tray 800 to an upright tray 800 can be repeated.

[0068] In this way, all the upright trays 800 on the tray group 1 to be unstacked can be taken out one by one and conveyed along the first direction X1 in turn, and all the inverted trays 800 on the tray group 1 to be unstacked can be turned over one by one and conveyed along the second direction X2 in turn. The tray group 1 to be unstacked with upright and inverted trays alternately stacked is efficiently automatically unstacked, and the inverted tray 800 after unstacking is automatically turned over to an upright tray 800.

[0069] At the same time, batches of upright trays 800 can be conveyed along the first direction X1 and the second direction X2 respectively for use by workers. The upright trays 800 conveyed along the first direction X1 and the second direction X2 can also be stacked, so that two tray groups stacked with upright trays 800 only are formed, which are convenient for storage and use.

[0070] In the embodiment of the present application, it is considered that when the tray group 1 to be unstacked is processed and delivered from the factory, a upright tray 800 will be arranged at the bottom as a bearing member of the tray group 1 to be unstacked, as shown in Figure 4 That is, the second last layer of the tray group 1 to be unstacked is only one upright tray 800, and the trays 800 arranged above and below the upright tray 800 are upright and inverted trays alternately arranged. That is, in the tray group 1 to be unstacked, the second last layer of the tray group 1 to be unstacked is only one upright tray 800, and each layer of the tray group 1 to be unstacked above the second last layer is one upright tray 800 and one inverted tray 800 arranged above and below.

[0071] Based on this, when the front-facing tray 800 in the last-but-one layer tray 800 that is not lifted is taken out, it is first detected whether the back-facing tray 800 exists on the unstacking station 10. If the back-facing tray 800 exists on the unstacking station 10, the back-facing tray 800 is conveyed in the second direction X2 and is flipped by 180°. If the back-facing tray 800 does not exist on the unstacking station 10, the tray 800 in the last-but-two layer and above that is lifted is lowered to the unstacking station 10.

[0072] It should be noted that, since the front profile and the back profile of the tray 800 are not the same, a visual detection mechanism (not shown in the figure) such as a CCD camera can be arranged on the unstacking station 10. The visual detection mechanism can capture the image of the tray on the unstacking station 10 and can distinguish whether it is a front-facing tray 800 or a back-facing tray 800. In this way, when the front-facing tray 800 in the last-but-one layer tray 800 that is not lifted is taken out, the visual detection mechanism captures the image of the tray on the unstacking station 10 at this time. If it is fed back that the back-facing tray 800 exists on the unstacking station 10 at this time, the back-facing tray 800 can be directly conveyed in the second direction X2 and flipped to a front-facing tray 800 in the process of conveying the back-facing tray 800. If it is fed back that the back-facing tray 800 does not exist on the unstacking station 10 at this time, the tray 800 in the last-but-two layer and above that is lifted is lowered to the unstacking station 10.

[0073] Of course, a photoelectric sensor can also be arranged on the unstacking station 10. When the front-facing tray 800 in the last-but-one layer that is not lifted is taken out, the photoelectric sensor detects whether the back-facing tray 800 exists on the unstacking station 10.

[0074] Obviously, through the above-mentioned arrangement, the unstacking method of the present application can be applied to more distributed forms of the tray group to be unstacked, and the applicability of the unstacking method is improved.

[0075] It is not difficult to understand that, considering that the tray group 1 to be unstacked conveyed to the unstacking station 10 can only have one layer, i.e., the tray group 1 to be unstacked only includes one front-facing tray 800 and one back-facing tray 800, the front-facing tray 800 and the back-facing tray 800 are buckled together in front and back.

[0076] Based on this, when the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 is conveyed to the unstacking station 10, it is first detected whether the tray group 1 has less than two layers, that is, whether the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 has only one layer of trays 800. If the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 has only one layer of trays 800, the above step S3 is not implemented, that is, the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 at this time is the last layer of trays 800, the normally placed tray 800 in the last layer of trays 800 is taken out and conveyed in the first direction X1, and the reversely placed tray 800 in the last layer of trays 800 is conveyed in the second direction X2 and flipped by 180° in the conveying process, so that the reversely placed tray 800 is flipped to a normally placed tray 800 and then conveyed in the second direction X2. At this time, the unstacking of the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 is completed.

[0077] If the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 has more than or equal to two layers of trays, step S3 is implemented.

[0078] Similarly, a visual detection mechanism or a photoelectric sensor can be arranged on the unstacking station 10 to detect whether the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 conveyed to the unstacking station 10 has one layer of trays.

[0079] It can be understood that through the above tray layer detection step, the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 with only one layer of trays can be prevented from being lifted or lowered, the accuracy of implementing related unstacking actions on the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 in a specific form is improved, and the unstacking method of the present application is applicable to more distributed forms of to-be-unstacked tray groups 1, thereby improving the applicability of the unstacking method.

[0080] In some embodiments of the present application, the unstacking method further comprises the following steps:

[0081] The normally placed trays 800 in the first direction X1 are stacked into a second output stack, and the normally placed trays 800 in the second direction X2 are stacked into a first output stack.

[0082] It should be noted that during the lifting or lowering of the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 and the taking out of the normally placed tray 800 or the reversely placed tray 800 on the unstacking station 10, the normally placed trays 800 taken out and conveyed in the first direction X1 can be stacked one by one, and the normally placed trays 800 flipped and conveyed in the second direction X2 can be stacked one by one, so as to improve the continuity and efficiency of unstacking and restacking the to-be-unstacked tray group 1.

[0083] Referring to Figure 2The first stacking mechanism 600 and the second stacking mechanism 700 can be respectively arranged, the first stacking mechanism 600 stacks the upright placed trays 800 conveyed along the second direction X2 one by one to stack the upright placed trays 800 into a group of upright placed trays; similarly, the second stacking mechanism 700 stacks the upright placed trays 800 conveyed along the first direction X1 one by one to stack the upright placed trays 800 into a group of upright placed trays. The first stacking mechanism 600 and the second stacking mechanism 700 can be conventional lifting stacking machines.

[0084] In this way, the groups of trays 1 arranged alternately in upright placed and reverse placed modes can be disassembled and stacked into groups of upright placed trays 800 respectively, so as to facilitate storage and use.

[0085] In addition, referring to Figures 5-8 The automatic disassembling and stacking device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement the disassembling and stacking method described above, and comprises a first conveyor 100, a second conveyor 400, a first disassembling mechanism 200, a second disassembling mechanism 500 and a turnover mechanism 300.

[0086] The first conveyor 100 is arranged on the conveying path of the first conveyor 100 and is used to convey the group of trays 1 to be disassembled to the disassembling station 10 along the second direction X2 and convey the reverse placed trays 800 disassembled from the group of trays 1 to be disassembled to the turnover station 20.

[0087] The first disassembling mechanism 200 is arranged at the disassembling station 10 and can lift or lower the part above the target level in the group of trays 1 to be disassembled.

[0088] The second conveyor 400 is used to convey the upright placed trays 800 disassembled from the group of trays 1 to be disassembled along the first direction X1.

[0089] The second disassembling mechanism 500 is used to take out the upright placed trays 800 in the trays not lifted and carry the upright placed trays 800 to the second conveyor 400.

[0090] The turnover mechanism 300 is arranged at the turnover station 20 and is used to turn the reverse placed trays 800 conveyed from the disassembling station 10 to the turnover station 20 into upright placed trays 800.

[0091] It can be understood that, when the automatic disassembling and stacking device of the present application disassembles the group of trays 1 to be disassembled, the group of trays 1 to be disassembled is first placed at the disassembling station 10, then the first disassembling mechanism 200 lifts the trays 800 in the group of trays 1 to be disassembled above the second last layer by a certain distance, so that the disassembling station 10 only retains the tray 800 in the last layer of the group of trays 1 to be disassembled.

[0092] Then, the second unstacking mechanism 500 takes out the upright tray 800 in the second-to-last layer tray 800 and carries it to the second conveyor 400, and the second conveyor 400 conveys the upright tray 800 in the first direction X1. After the upright tray 800 in the second-to-last layer tray 800 is taken out, if there is an upside-down tray 800 on the unstacking station 10, the first conveyor 100 can convey the upside-down tray 800 to the turnover station 20, and the turnover mechanism 300 arranged at the turnover station 20 can turn the upside-down tray 800 on the turnover station 20 into an upright tray 800, so that the first conveyor 100 conveys the turned upright tray 800 in the second direction X2.

[0093] In addition, during the conveying of the upright tray 800 taken out by the second conveyor 400 in the first direction X1 and the conveying of the turned upright tray 800 by the first conveyor 100 in the second direction X2, the first unstacking mechanism 200 can lower the second-to-last layer and above trays 800 that have been lifted to the unstacking station 10, and then repeat the above-mentioned actions of lifting the tray group, taking out the upright tray 800 remaining on the unstacking station 10, and turning the upside-down tray 800 into an upright tray 800 by the cooperation of the first unstacking mechanism 200, the first conveyor 100, the second unstacking mechanism 500, and the turnover mechanism 300.

[0094] In this way, all the upright trays 800 on the unstacked tray group 1 can be taken out one by one and conveyed in the first direction X1 in turn, and all the upside-down trays 800 on the unstacked tray group 1 can be turned one by one and conveyed in the second direction X2 in turn, realizing efficient automatic unstacking of the upright and upside-down alternating stacked tray group 1, and automatic turning of the upside-down tray 800 into an upright tray 800 after unstacking, so as to convey batches of upright trays 800 in the first direction X1 and the second direction X2 respectively for the staff to use.

[0095] Of course, each upright tray 800 conveyed in the first direction X1 and the second direction X2 can also be stacked, so as to form two tray groups stacked with only upright trays 800, which is convenient for storage and use.

[0096] The automatic unstacking device of the present application realizes that each tray 800 on the tray group to be unstacked arranged alternately on the front and back sides is taken out one by one, the reverse tray 800 on the tray group to be unstacked 1 is placed to the front tray 800, meanwhile, each tray 800 unstacked from the tray group to be unstacked 1 is conveyed on two conveying lines at the same time, which greatly improves the unstacking efficiency and provides great convenience for the subsequent staff to use the front tray 800 in batches.

[0097] In some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 5 and Figure 6 , the first unstacking mechanism 200 comprises a first lifting seat 210 capable of lifting relative to the first conveyor 100 and a first telescopic piece 220 arranged on the first lifting seat 210, the first telescopic piece 220 can extend along the second direction X2 or retract along the direction opposite to the second direction X2 to extend into or out of the first fork leg position 810 of the target tray 800.

[0098] Similarly, the second unstacking mechanism 500 comprises a second lifting seat 510 capable of lifting relative to the second conveyor 400 and a second telescopic piece 520 arranged on the second lifting seat 510, the second telescopic piece 520 can extend along the third direction X3 intersecting with the second direction X2 or retract along the direction opposite to the third direction X3 to extend into or out of the second fork leg position 820 of the front tray 800.

[0099] The first lifting seat 210 can be configured as a first lifting table, the first telescopic piece 220 comprises a first telescopic fork arranged on the output end of the first lifting table, and the reciprocating movement of the first telescopic fork realizes the action of extending along the second direction X2 or retracting along the direction opposite to the second direction X2. Similarly, the second lifting seat 510 can also be configured as a second lifting table, the second telescopic piece 520 comprises a second telescopic fork arranged on the output end of the second lifting table, and the reciprocating movement of the second telescopic fork realizes the action of extending along the third direction X3 or retracting along the direction opposite to the third direction X3.

[0100] Specifically, in the tray group to be unstacked 1 of the embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 1The single tray 800 is provided with two first fork leg positions 810 which are parallel and spaced apart, and both of the two first fork leg positions 810 penetrate through both ends of the tray 800. The first fork leg position 810 is a fork opening for the first telescopic member 220 to extend into or exit from. The fork opening is preferably a rectangular fork opening. The single tray 800 is also provided with two second fork leg positions 820 which are parallel and spaced apart, and both of the two second fork leg positions 820 penetrate through both sides of the tray 800. The second fork leg position 820 is a slot for the second telescopic member 520 to extend into or exit from. The slot opening faces downward. It can be understood that the second fork leg position 820 is defined by two adjacent support legs at the bottom of the tray 800.

[0101] It can be understood that the first fork leg position 810 of the tray 800 extends along the second direction X2 of the tray 800, and the second fork leg position 820 of the tray 800 extends along the third direction X3 of the tray 800. The second direction X2 and the third direction X3 are the length direction and the width direction of the tray 800, i.e., the second direction X2 and the third direction X3 are perpendicular. In the entire automatic unstacking device, the first conveyor 100 and the second conveyor 400 are parallel and at the same height, i.e., the first direction X1 and the second direction X2 are parallel and at the same height, thereby reducing the occupied space.

[0102] Referring to Figure 1 , Figure 3 It can be understood that when the upright tray 800 and the inverted tray 800 are distributed in an up-down cross manner, the upright tray 800 is inserted and stacked above the inverted tray 800. In this way, the single upright tray 800 and the single inverted tray 800 constitute a layer of trays 800 in the to-be-unstacked tray group 1. At this time, in the layer of trays 800, the first fork leg position 810 of the upright tray 800 and the first fork leg position 810 of the inverted tray 800 are coaxially connected, and the second fork leg position 820 of the upright tray 800 and the second fork leg position 820 of the inverted tray 800 are coaxially connected.

[0103] Referring to Figure 6 When the first unstacking mechanism 200 needs to lift the second-to-last layer and above of the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 by a certain distance, the first lifting seat 210 drives the first telescopic member 220 to rise relative to the first conveyor 100 to a position where the first telescopic member 220 is flush with the first fork leg position 810 in the second-to-last layer of trays 800. At this time, the first telescopic member 220 extends into the first fork leg position 810 of the second-to-last layer of trays 800 along the second direction X2. Then, the first lifting seat 210 drives the first telescopic member 220 to rise, thereby lifting the second-to-last layer and above of the trays 800 by a certain distance.

[0104] At this time, only the last but one layer of the tray 800 in the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 is located at the unstacking station 10, the second lifting seat 510 drives the second telescopic part 520 to ascend relative to the second conveyor 400 to a position where the second telescopic part 520 is flush with the second fork leg position 820 of the upright tray 800 in the last but one layer of the tray 800, then the second telescopic part 520 extends into the second fork leg position 820 along the third direction X3 to carry the upright tray 800, and is retracted and lowered to the initial position along the direction opposite to the third direction X3, so as to take out the upright tray 800 and carry it to the second conveyor 400.

[0105] By setting the first unstacking mechanism 200 and the second unstacking mechanism 500 as vertical lifting and horizontal telescopic structures, the telescopic actions of the first telescopic part 220 and the second telescopic part 520 are matched with the cross-distributed first fork leg position 810 and the second fork leg position 820 on each layer of the tray 800, so as to accurately separate the upright tray 800 and the reversed tray 800 on each layer of the tray 800, improve the unstacking accuracy and unstacking efficiency of the to-be-unstacked tray group 1, and at the same time, each tray of the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 can be taken out without setting a multi-dimensional mechanical hand, thereby saving the unstacking cost.

[0106] In addition, it can also be understood that considering that the upright tray 800 and the reversed tray 800 on the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 exist irregular distribution, for example, in a four-layer to-be-unstacked tray group 1, the last but one layer and the last but two layer are both single upright trays 800, and the last but three layer and the last layer are both tray groups with upright and reversed cross distribution. When the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 is conveyed to the unstacking station 10, the first lifting seat 210 drives the first telescopic part 220 to ascend relative to the first conveyor 100 to a position where the first telescopic part 220 is flush with the first fork leg position 810 in the last but three layer of the tray 800, so that the two upright stacked trays 800 in the last but one layer and the last but two layer remain in the stacked state on the unstacking station 10. At this time, the second lifting seat 510 drives the second telescopic part 520 to ascend relative to the second conveyor 400 to a position where the second telescopic part 520 is flush with the second fork leg position 820 of the upright tray 800 in the last but one layer, then the second telescopic part 520 extends into the second fork leg position 820 along the third direction X3 to carry the upright tray 800 and the tray 800 above the upright tray 800, and is retracted and lowered to the initial position along the direction opposite to the third direction X3, so as to take out the two upright stacked trays 800 and carry them to the second conveyor 400.

[0107] Obviously, by using the function of driving the first telescopic part 220 to rise to the position where the first telescopic part 220 is flush with the first fork leg position 810 of any tray 800 in the to-be-unstacked tray group 1, the unstacking device of the present application can adapt to the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 with irregularly stacked distribution of forward and reverse trays 800, and further improve the unstacking efficiency and adaptability of the whole device.

[0108] In some embodiments of the present application, referring back to Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the turnover mechanism 300 comprises a rotating shaft 330, a rotating drive 310 for driving the rotating shaft 330 to rotate, and a turnover frame 320 provided on the rotating shaft 330. The rotating shaft 330 is installed above the first conveyor 100 through a bearing seat, and the turnover frame 320 is provided with a limiting groove 321 for the tray 800 to enter along the second direction X2.

[0109] Specifically, the rotating drive 310 is a driving motor installed on the first conveyor 100. The output shaft of the driving motor is connected with the rotating shaft 330, and the axis direction of the rotating shaft 330 is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the first conveyor 100. The limiting groove 321 is a U-shaped groove, which can be used to accommodate the tray 800. The first conveyor 100 can be a chain conveyor or a belt conveyor. The driving motor can drive the turnover frame 320 to rotate to the slot opening of the limiting groove 321 facing the unstacking station 10 through the rotating shaft 330, and the length of the limiting groove 321 along the width direction of the first conveyor 100 is less than the length of the tray 800.

[0110] In this way, when the first conveyor 100 conveys the reverse tray 800 along the second direction X2 to the turnover station 20, the reverse tray 800 will enter the limiting groove 321 of the turnover frame 320 under the driving of the first conveyor 100 to be supported and limited by the turnover frame 320. At this time, the driving motor can drive the turnover frame 320 to rotate 180° in the vertical plane, so as to turn the reverse tray 800 on the turnover frame 320 into a forward tray 800. During the turnover process, the limiting groove 321 ensures the stability of the tray 800 to avoid falling. Since the length of the limiting groove 321 is less than the length of the tray 800, when the tray 800 on the turnover frame 320 is turned 180°, the tray 800 protrudes from both ends of the limiting groove 321 and is placed on the first conveyor 100. At this time, the tray 800 can continue to be conveyed along the second direction X2 under the driving of the first conveyor 100.

[0111] It is not difficult to understand that through the above setting, the length of the limiting groove 321 on the turnover frame 320 is less than the length of the tray 800, which is a clever setting. The overturned tray 800 can continue to be conveyed by the first conveyor 100, without stopping the first conveyor 100, ensuring the continuity of the tray 800 conveying and the continuity of the whole unstacking process, and further improving the unstacking efficiency.

[0112] In some embodiments of the present application, referring again to Figure 2 、 Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the first conveyor 100 is also provided with a first stacking station 30, and the turnover station 20 is located between the unstacking station 10 and the first stacking station 30. The first stacking station 30 is provided with a first stacking mechanism 600, which is configured to stack the upright tray 800 conveyed along the first conveyor 100 to obtain a first output stack.

[0113] Similarly, the second conveyor 400 is also provided with a second stacking station 40, and the second stacking station 40 is provided with a second stacking mechanism 700. The second stacking mechanism 700 is configured to stack the upright tray 800 conveyed along the second conveyor 400 to obtain a second output stack.

[0114] Specifically, the first stacking mechanism 600 and the second stacking mechanism 700 are both configured as lifting stacking machines. It should be noted that during the unstacking action of the first unstacking mechanism 200 and the second unstacking mechanism 500 on the to-be-unstacked tray 1, the first stacking mechanism 600 can simultaneously stack the upright tray 800 conveyed along the second direction X2 one by one to stack a batch of upright trays 800 into an upright tray group; similarly, the second stacking mechanism 700 simultaneously stacks the upright tray 800 conveyed along the first direction X1 one by one to stack a batch of upright trays 800 into an upright tray group. In this way, the to-be-unstacked tray group 1 arranged alternately in the front and back directions can be unstacked and stacked into two upright tray groups with all the trays 800 facing upwards, so as to facilitate storage and use.

[0115] In addition, the ends of the first conveyor 100 and the second conveyor 400 can be connected to product conveying lines, forklifts, AGV trolleys and other handling devices to handle and convey the upright tray groups stacked by the first stacking mechanism 600 and the second stacking mechanism 700, respectively, facilitating storage and use.

[0116] Moreover, by synchronizing the unstacking action and the stacking action, the continuity of the unstacking and stacking of the whole unstacking and stacking device is ensured, and the efficiency of the unstacking and restacking of the to-be-unstacked tray 1 is improved.

[0117] Any combination of the technical features in the above-described embodiments can be made, and for the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations are described, however, it is to be understood that the application embraces all such possible combinations.

[0118] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation manners of the application, and the description is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be understood as a limitation on the patent scope of the application. It should be pointed out that for ordinary skilled persons in the art, some modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the application. Therefore, the patent protection scope of the application should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method of de-palletizing, characterized by, The method comprises the following steps: Lifting the trays above the target level in the to-be-unstacked tray group (1); Unstacking the trays in the target level, which comprises: taking out the right-side-up tray (800) and conveying it in the first direction (X1), taking out the upside-down tray (800) and conveying it in the second direction (X2), and turning the upside-down tray (800) into a right-side-up tray (800) during the conveying process; Conveying the to-be-unstacked tray group (1) to the unstacking station (10) by the first conveyor (100), lifting the trays above the second-to-last layer in the to-be-unstacked tray group (1) relative to the unstacking station (10) by the first unstacking mechanism (200), taking out the right-side-up tray in the last layer that is not lifted and conveying it to the second conveyor (400) by the second unstacking mechanism (500), so that the second conveyor (400) conveys the right-side-up tray in the first direction (X1), and the first conveyor (100) conveys the upside-down tray in the second direction (X2); a turnover mechanism (300) is arranged on the running path of the upside-down tray, which turns the upside-down tray by 180°; the lifted trays (800) are released layer by layer from bottom to top to the position of the target level, and the trays (800) on the target level are repeatedly unstacked until the unstacking of all the lifted trays (800) is completed; The first stacking mechanism (600) and the second stacking mechanism (700) are arranged, the first stacking mechanism (600) is configured to stack the right-side-up trays (800) conveyed in the first direction (X1) to obtain a first output stack, and the second stacking mechanism (700) is configured to stack the right-side-up trays (800) conveyed in the second direction (X2) to obtain a second output stack.

2. The method of unstacking according to claim 1, characterized in that, The target level is the height position corresponding to the lowest layer in the to-be-unstacked tray group (1).

3. The method of unstacking according to claim 1, wherein, Any single layer in the to-be-unstacked tray group (1) comprises a single right-side-up tray (800), a single upside-down tray (800), or a pair of right-side-up tray (800) and upside-down tray (800) that are buckled together.

4. An automatic de-palletizing device characterized by, The method comprises: The first conveyor (100) is arranged on the conveying path and is provided with an unstacking station (10) and a turnover station (20); the first conveyor (100) is used for conveying the to-be-unstacked tray group (1) to the unstacking station (10) in the second direction (X2) and conveying the unstacked upside-down tray (800) from the unstacking station (10) to the turnover station (20); The turnover mechanism (300) is arranged on the turnover station (20) and is used for turning the upside-down tray (800) into a right-side-up state; The first unstacking mechanism (200) is arranged on the unstacking station (10) and can lift or lower the part above the target level of the to-be-unstacked tray group (1); The second conveyor (400) is used for conveying the right-side-up tray (800) unstacked from the to-be-unstacked tray group (1) in the first direction (X1); A second unstacking mechanism (500) is configured to take out a right-side-up tray (800) from the unlifted trays (800) and carry the right-side-up tray (800) to the second conveyor (400); A first stacking mechanism (600) and a second stacking mechanism (700), the first stacking mechanism (600) is configured to stack the right-side-up trays (800) conveyed along the first conveyor (100) to obtain a first output stack; the second stacking mechanism (700) is configured to stack the right-side-up trays (800) conveyed along the second conveyor (400) to obtain a second output stack.

5. The automatic de-palletizing apparatus of claim 4, wherein The first unstacking mechanism (200) comprises a first lifting seat (210) capable of lifting relative to the first conveyor (100) and a first telescopic member (220) arranged on the first lifting seat (210), the first telescopic member (220) is capable of extending along the second direction (X2) or retracting in the opposite direction of the second direction (X2) to extend into or exit the first fork position (810) of the target tray (800).

6. The automatic de-palletizing apparatus of claim 5, wherein Each of the single trays (800) is provided with two first fork positions (810) distributed in parallel and at intervals, both of which penetrate the two ends of the tray (800), and the first fork position (810) is a fork for the first telescopic member (220) to extend into or exit.

7. The automatic de-palletizing apparatus of claim 4, wherein The second unstacking mechanism (500) comprises a second lifting seat (510) capable of lifting relative to the second conveyor (400) and a second telescopic member (520) arranged on the second lifting seat (510), the second telescopic member (520) is capable of extending along a third direction (X3) arranged transversely to the second direction (X2) or retracting in the opposite direction of the third direction (X3) to extend into or exit the second fork position (820) of the right-side-up tray (800).

8. The automatic de-palletizing apparatus of claim 4, wherein, The turnover mechanism (300) comprises a rotating shaft (330), a rotating drive member (310) for driving the rotating shaft (330) to rotate, and a turnover frame (320) arranged on the rotating shaft (330), the turnover frame (320) is provided with a limiting groove (321) for the tray (800) to enter along the second direction (X2).

9. The automatic de-palletizing apparatus of claim 4, wherein, The first conveyor (100) is further provided with a first stacking station (30), the turnover station (20) is located between the unstacking station (10) and the first stacking station (30), and the first stacking station (30) is provided with the first stacking mechanism (600).

10. The automatic de-palletizing apparatus of claim 4, wherein, The second conveyor (400) is further provided with a second stacking station (40), and the second stacking station (40) is provided with the second stacking mechanism (700).

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